


The room

by demurely1



Category: Broadchurch
Genre: Canon Related, Comfort, F/M, Grief/Mourning, Reconciliation, Reconciliation Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-11
Updated: 2013-05-11
Packaged: 2017-12-11 13:43:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/799387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/demurely1/pseuds/demurely1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This explains, develops and continues from the scene in episode 8, when Beth discovers Mark sitting on Danny's bed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The room

**Author's Note:**

> [](http://www.flickr.com/photos/44404210@N04/8729705164/)   
>  [](http://www.flickr.com/photos/44404210@N04/8728590937/)   
> 

Because he was usually the first up in the household, Mark had taken to spending a few minutes in Danny’s room every morning – usually sometime between bathing and dressing.  He would drift in and pick up some object on the shelf or window sill, wondering or remembering about it. Or open a book or a drawer, or sometimes just sit and look at the wall or out of the window.  He didn’t make a fuss or even shed a tear - usually. He’d stopped trying to figure out the mystery of Danny’s death, though many questions still existed somewhere at the back of his mind.  Instead he just let it soak in. Afterwards he could get on with his day, with his responsibilities, focus on Beth or Chloe or work. Boxing it up – that’s what Beth called it.

Today was different though. Different because of everything that had happened the day before.

 

Mark:  _What are we going to do about the room?_

Beth:  _How do you mean?_

Mark:  _Baby, the baby’s coming… means we have to clear the room. I don’t wanna to clear the room…_

Beth gasped and automatically moved her hand to her stomach.  She’d not seen Mark in such pain and confusion in all the weeks since Danny’s death. 

In fact, quite the opposite. His had mostly been the practical, sensible voice offering whatever support and comfort was necessary.  Beth had recognised that, even if she’d not always welcomed it. She was well aware that he had met her own anger and frustration stoically and her shunning of physical comfort with patience.  On those rare occasions when his own anger had risen to the fore, he’d stormed out of the house and vented his frustrations elsewhere, returning later calm and collected.

She looked at this sad, crumpled figure on Danny’s bed and fought back her own tears as she moved to him shushing, reached her hand to his cheek and pulled him gently to her.  Mark responded by wrapping his arms around her hips and pressing his face into her soft dressing gown.  

“Hey! There’s no rush,” she whispered, stroking his hair. “Baby won’t be here for six months yet.  Anyway, he could come in with us for the first few months, just like Chloe did, don’t you think?” she added, holding his face flush against her.  He didn’t move for some minutes, but she felt him sigh and relax as her fingers became wet with his tears.

“He?” Mark suddenly pulled away from her grasp and looked up at her with wrinkled brow, wiping the tears away with his fingers.

Beth immediately chuckled and nodded, still stroking his hair. “Call it intuition,” she grinned.

Mark released another long sigh and hugged her again, laughing through his tears and nuzzling her belly until her robe parted, allowing his hands to seek out the bare skin of her abdomen and his lips to cover it with kisses.  Beth squeaked and quickly covered her mouth to muffle the giggles she could not hold back.

Slowly he pulled away. “I don’t mind if it’s a boy or a girl,” he smiled up at her wryly, “I just want this baby.” He pressed his lips against her belly again, as she bent forward to press her own against the top of his head.  She breathed in deeply relishing the scent of his hair – a scent she’d almost forgotten.

When she eventually pulled herself upright again, she looked at him with new eyes. “It’s still early,” she whispered, “come back to bed. If we stay in here, we’ll disturb Chloe.”  

Mark looked up at her, his brow wrinkling again, “How do you mean: disturb Chloe?”

“Come on!” she urged softly, pulling him by the hand, “we can’t talk here”.

She led him back into their bedroom and closed the door behind them, before pushing him back into bed and getting in beside him.

Mark lay on his back, regarding Beth with a mixture of suspicion and relief. For the past few months they’d rarely touched in bed, or elsewhere for that matter, and now here was Beth leaning over him, looking as if she wanted him.  He felt a buzz deep in his stomach.

Beth lay on her side, leaning half on him, her legs straddling Mark’s left leg. She reached her left hand to stroke his face.  He automatically gripped her backside with his left hand and stroked his right hand up and then down her back.

“Why are you suddenly so worried about the baby?”  she murmured,  gazing into his eyes and raising her brows quizzically.  “After all, you’ve known about it for at least 6 weeks?”  

Mark stilled for a moment and then smiled and shook his head. “I’m not worried about the baby, _now_.  I saw how happy the scan made you, just like it did me.” He pulled her body up to kiss her gently on the lips. She responded by kissing him back harder while continuing to steadily hold his gaze.

Mark wrinkled his nose and smiled.  It was a long time since Beth had made her desire for him so obvious.

“I have been worried though,” he said, rolling her onto her back and leaning over her now. He placed his huge right hand carefully on her abdomen, and then looked back up into her eyes. 

Beth could see the worry return into Mark’s eyes, as he revisited his recent memories. She nodded  telling him to go on.

“I didn’t dare touch you and the baby,” he whispered now, stroking her belly and bending over to graze his lips on her skin.  “I didn’t dare risk falling in love with the baby, in case...” he gulped, and shook his head, as Beth reached to stroke his hair and shush him again.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” she sobbed down to him. “I would never have done that!  I just ..” the tears started to trickle down her cheeks now,  as she placed her hand over his on her belly.  Mark reached up to comfort her, and kiss away _her_ tears.

He held her and kissed her again and again until she stopped sobbing and started giggling again.

Mark sighed and rolled onto his back again, pulling her up onto him and letting her head rest on his shoulder.  He wrapped his arms around her as though he would never let her go.

“You know what you said yesterday, when we spoke to Paul? About me not understanding how you felt? About Danny... and the baby and boxing it off?”

Beth looked up at him again, nodding with wrinkled brow.

“Well, I think I do understand... _now_ ,” he whispered. “When I sat on Danny’s bed...”

Beth quickly reached up and placed a silent finger on his lips. “I know,” she said, smiling and nodding in understanding into his eyes.

“I was thinking” she said, changing the subject, her eyes twinkling now. “Perhaps, we could put up some fairy lights in here.  After all,” she grinned, “I don’t see why we shouldn’t have a happy room too!”

She watched Mark’s face as the realisation dawned.

“OK,” he nodded slowly, pretending to take this suggestion seriously. “But you do know we’ll be obliged to christen this _happy room........_ immediately!”  and, so saying, he tipped her off him onto her back,  sprang onto his knees, pulled off her panties and dipped his lips down between her legs. 

Beth squealed with delight and clung onto his hair.

 


End file.
